Ka-Pow! Batman Wings it Back to TV

Here's a twist on the increasingly popular TV reunion: Legendary dynamic duo Adam West and Burt Ward — who became pop culture icons via their respective roles as Batman and Robin in the classic '60s series Batman — are reteaming for an upcoming CBS special that is neither a clip-filled retrospective nor a cheesy sequel chronicling the superheroes' much-later years. No, Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt is a tongue-in-cheek comedy adventure in which West and Ward, playing themselves, stumble upon a diabolical plot to steal the original Batmobile from a charity benefit. Talk about silly!

"We decided to do something that was fresh, innovative," says West, "a modern-day caper with [me] and Burt and maybe with an occasional allusion to or reference to some of the escapades in the past." (Jack Brewer and Jason Marsden play a young West and Ward.)

"I've always been opposed to reunion shows," adds the erstwhile Bruce Wayne, whose 1994 memoir, Back to the Batcave, was one of the source materials scribe Duane Poole used when writing the script. "I've never wanted to be perceived as a member of the over-the-hill gang. And I've always been very lucky in that I've been able to keep working, whether it's voice-overs, animation, whatever."

So, what led the 74-year-old actor to change his mind? "Because it's the 35th anniversary [of the series]," he says, "and because — I know this sounds a little self-serving — Paul Kaufman, our producer, paid me so much money."

Return to the Batcave, which also features cameos by Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) and Catwomen Lee Meriwether and Julie Newmar, is slated to air this spring on CBS.